$9 for a monkey? Concern in India over bounty system

There’s growing concern in India regarding a scheme that offers people 500 rupees (about $9) for every monkey they capture. The monkeys are taken to be sterilized, but campaigners warn that the process is traumatic for the animals and could cause long-term damage.

Officials in Himachal Pradesh state say that they want to cut the number of monkeys by 200,000 in the next few months, and they hope that the sterilization program will go some way towards doing this without having to simply cull the animals. The monkeys are said to be a danger to tourists, locals and crops.

Some campaigners, however, are against the bounty system, warning that monkeys can be harmed by crude capture tactics. Some also believe that monkeys are sacred, and that any attempt to harm them is expressly against the wishes of the gods.